I'll say this, if we can win today and get out of this road trip 3-3...well that's about as ugly a 3-3 as you can have.

I like Jose's introduction, which is neither complacent nor hysterical, so let me complement that Red Sox schedule with a corresponding one for the Orioles' next 31 games.

at Diego (1)
at Seattle (4)
at Dodgers (3)
Angels (3)
ALL-STAR BREAK
at Rays (3)
at Yankees (4)
Indians (3)
Rockies (3)
at Twins (1)
at Toronto (3)
Rangers (3)

16 of those 31 games are against teams with winning records, and only 12 of the 31 are at home. If the O's can remain in first place by the time that this is over, it might be time to really start taking them seriously. What really remains to be seen is how long the starters can keep giving up big chunks of runs early in the game and have the hitters and the bullpen keep bailing them out. They've been doing this at home, but not so much on the road.

What really remains to be seen is how long the starters can keep giving up big chunks of runs early in the game and have the hitters and the bullpen keep bailing them out. They've been doing this at home, but not so much on the road.

This is the amazing part to me about the Orioles. They actually mentioned in one of the postgame shows this weekend that the Orioles' rotation actually has a worse ERA than the Sox'. That is no kind of recipe for success because offense slumps and when it does it can be ugly (as the Sox have demonstrated). The Oriole bullpen is considerably better and the wins they have are in the bank but I still think the division is pretty open (except for Tampa who sunk their season with that 11 game losing streak).

I'll say this, if we can win today and get out of this road trip 3-3...well that's about as ugly a 3-3 as you can have.

So much for that.

I don't have any strong opinions about Farrell, but if they are thinking of firing him, this would be the time to do it.

Agreed. I don't think it makes a difference if the pitching is this bad but if they think it's going to change things, now is the time to make a move. I just don't see it mattering. I'm hard pressed to see what Farrell is doing to make Price and friends suck.

Not a well-researched idea, but that's what this site is for so here goes: Ferrell doesn't seem to be able to right things when they go poorly. In 2013, so many things went right and they seemed to cruise the whole year. In the other years, the teams stumbled at some point and just nose-dived. (It didn't help that they often punted at the trade deadline.)

Also, his strength is supposed to be in the pitching department, which has been the team's big weakness.

Team go through rough patches. I'm starting to think they have the tools in-house to right the ship. They have Buch, EdRod, Owens, Joe K, RoenisE, Wilkerson, Sean O'Sullivan, and heck even Hembree or Ross who could pass off as starters. At least one of these guys has to start clicking and some of the parts can repair the bullpen. They have the offense and front line pitching to do fine in a playoff series. If they can roll the dice on a low cost acquisition, fine, but I hope they don't go all in to chase rainbows.

They have Buch, EdRod, Owens, Joe K, RoenisE, Wilkerson, Sean O'Sullivan, and heck even Hembree or Ross who could pass off as crappy starters.

fixed.

The first 7 names are guys that have no right starting a MLB game at this point in time. Especially for the team I follow.

Hugh - I'm with you on O'Sullivan but there is plenty of talent on the rest of that list. Wilkerson I suspect is a nobody but he's been pitching well every step of the way so may as well give him a shot. The rest have talent, I don't know what's going on.

I'm generally with Bad Fish, I think the talent is here. They just need to play better.

They have Buch, EdRod, Owens, Joe K, RoenisE, Wilkerson, Sean O'Sullivan, and heck even Hembree or Ross who could pass off as starters.

The problem is, you can go through a whole season of suck before you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Not a well-researched idea, but that's what this site is for so here goes: Ferrell doesn't seem to be able to right things when they go poorly. In 2013, so many things went right and they seemed to cruise the whole year. In the other years, the teams stumbled at some point and just nose-dived. (It didn't help that they often punted at the trade deadline.)

I agree with this 100%. Farrell's teams do not snap out of losing funks, at all. It seems like they play tight when things get bad and it just spirals.

In 2013 they never had a bad stretch, which is certainly to Farrell's credit, but it is rare to have a team that doesn't go through.a few bad weeks, so having a manager who can arrest them is pretty important IMO.

UPDATE (7/3/2016): Yes.

I'll be shocked if he survives the all star break. I'll be equally shocked if it makes any difference.

UPDATE (7/3/2016): Yes.

UPDATE 7/3/2016 3:45 PM: No.

UPDATE 7/3/16 4:45 PM: Yes

UPDATE 7/3/16 4:55 PM: No.

Dammit, beat me to it.

Dammit, beat me to it.

You might get another chance...

UPDATE 7/9/16, 6:56pm: NO.

Some talk earlier in the thread about Farrell's Sox not bouncing out of funks and I'll freely admit I agree with it. They've come up huge this week though. 6-1 since the battering last Saturday. Hard to say for sure but I think a bad week would've had Farrell out. All this considered worst case we go to the break three games back and on a 90 win pace. I'll take that.

I know the idea of almost any player getting $20 million a year is tough to imagine in the real world, but let's admit it: Rick Porcello getting ~$20m a year for ages 27 through 30 is, so far, turning out to be not such a bad idea.

There is a lot of value in having a durable, young, somewhat-above-league-average starter in your rotation. Relying on ERod, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens, Pat Kelly, or other young arms is so uncertain that you need a few guys that you don't have to worry about.

I know what you mean, but Porcello was a guy we had to worry about in the not too distant past.

About 6:50pm 7/31/16: yes
Like ten minutes later: never mind.